Deurne
Valkenburg
Ramona Koonings, born entrepreneur
Ramona Koonings is a Brabant wedding dress designer, entrepreneur, TV personality, industry leader, and natural family person. When Ramona started working as a coffee girl at 14 in the bridal shop of Mr. and Mrs. Koonings, it was soon apparent that she was brimming with ambition. She was naturally taken along in entrepreneurship and the bridal fashion world. When Mr. and Mrs. Koonings decided to sell the business, they entrusted it to only one person: the then-17-year-old Ramona. With her mother, Ineke, she seized this opportunity with both hands.
If you can dream it, you can do it
In the years that followed, Ramona grew her business more and more. She developed from coffee girl to stylist to designer. One after the other bridal fashion collection was introduced, and Koonings arose in several locations. Ramona’s ultimate dream? Creating an ultimate wedding experience under one roof. Creating a unique place where reality stops and you can dream away as far as your imagination can take you. Ramona masterfully turned her dream into reality. This reality is her gift to all bridal couples, their families, and their friends. With her philosophy ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’, Ramona surprised the world in 2018 with a stunning wedding palace of 11,000 m2, in which an immense, fairytale-like shopping experience takes place. Ramona is proud to call herself the owner of the largest bridal fashion store in the world. Every day unknown and well-known brides from home and abroad find their way to Koonings The Wedding Palace.
Ramona Koonings Couture
Koonings The Wedding Palace reflects Ramona’s unprecedented decisiveness and entrepreneurial spirit. To further express her passion for bridal fashion, she designs her own bridal collection every year ‘Ramona Koonings Couture‘ which is available exclusively at House of Bridal, a unique salon within Koonings The Wedding Palace. Ramona Koonings Couture is the result of Ramona’s years of knowledge and experience combined with the latest trends, brought together in one unique collection. Especially for the bride who wants to be seen and be the shining center of attention on her wedding day. Each dress is a unique design; a statement piece with a true couture look and feel, designed by Ramona herself. Thanks to her own collection, Ramona developed as the leading bridal fashion designer in the Netherlands. Besides all her activities as an entrepreneur and designer, Ramona Koonings is host of the popular TLC program Say Yes To The Dress Benelux.
Say Yes to the Dress
For seven seasons, Ramona Koonings has been the regular face of the popular TLC program Say Yes to the Dress which is taped at Koonings. And each season is bigger than ever before! We get an exclusive look at what goes on in the world’s largest bridal store. Besides Ramona, the brides are also assisted by the experienced Koonings stylists and presenter Fred van Leer.
Married At First Sight
Several couples are going to be Married At First Sight experiment of a lifetime by marrying each other without ever having seen each other before. In doing so, they place the love-lot completely in the hands of science. The special journey begins for the brides with picking out the wedding dress and Koonings is thus the first stop of this greatest adventure. Ramona Koonings helps the brides find the dress in which they will appear at the altar.
Ramona continues to write the fairy tale
With this castle-like building, Ramona not only knows how to make her own dream come true, but also welcomes thousands of brides every year to also make their dreams come true in white.
But even years later, Ramona’s dream of having her own real wedding castle won’t let go. When Kasteel Oost in Valkenburg comes up for sale in 2023, she doesn’t hesitate for a second, but seizes her chance. With a lovingly developed and comprehensive overall concept that goes far beyond just the wedding dress search, she wins the tender and in 2024 becomes the owner of Kasteel Oost, the future Koonings The Wedding Castle. Once again she proves, “If you can dream it – you can do it.” – no matter how long it takes.